First Solar President May Join Rival After Leaving, Analyst Says

April 14 (Bloomberg) -- Bruce Sohn, First Solar Inc.’s
president of operations, may pursue work as chief executive of
another solar company when he steps down at the end of this
month, an analyst said.

The world’s largest maker of thin-film photovoltaic panels
said yesterday in a statement that Sohn won’t be replaced after
his April 30 departure.

Sohn was a top executive at the Tempe, Arizona-based
company, and didn’t get the CEO job when First Solar’s original
top executive Michael Ahearn was named chairman in 2009. That
role went to an outsider, Rob Gillette.

“Some people believed that Bruce Sohn might have been the
heir-apparent” at the time, said Mark Bachman, an analyst with
New York-based investment bank Auriga USA LLC. “Everybody
aspires to have those three letters after their name, CEO,” and
Gillette may have “impeded his path.”

Sohn, 49, joined the company from Intel Corp. in 2007, and
his expertise was in developing a reliable manufacturing
process, Bachman said. Those skills were invaluable at First
Solar, and may be equally valued at another solar company.

It’s “very possible” that Sohn may end up running a rival
solar company, Bachman said.

Nathaniel Bullard, lead solar analyst for North America at
Bloomberg New Energy Finance, speculated that Sohn may move into
other areas. “My guess is that he lays low for a little while
and either enhances his government activity with his involvement
with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Manufacturing Council, or
enters venture capital,” he said.

Non-Compete Agreement

Bachman said Sohn may have a non-compete agreement in
place, and may not be able to move immediately to another solar
company.

Bachman said it’s notable that First Solar will not find
someone to take over the role, a sign that the task of
developing the company’s manufacturing technology is largely
complete.

“That heavy lifting has been done,” he said. “Now it’s a
reiteration process.”

Bullard suggested another option -- that Sohn will take
time off. “The years of ramp-up to global commercial operations
are extremely busy for any executive.”

First Solar’s shares were little-changed after the
announcement. It fell less than 1 percent to $144 after the
close of regular trading yesterday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.